I was not so much into tennis during 2000-2002, but i know Hewitt was hot back then...so hot that he burned quite quickly...can a tennis historian here make a short comparison between him and Nadal, tennis wise, results wise, injuries wise ?

Tks.

Q. Do you think you would have been able to play as well as you played today, or you think you would have pulled out from the game if it wasn't the Masters Cup final?

Both primarily defensive players, both started their careers really young. Hewitt hit much flatter than Nadal ever will and had the capacity to be aggressive, explaining his wins at the USO and Wimbledon. Nadal relies on consistency and outlasting the competition, while Hewitt went for his shots more. Lleyton's first serve % has always been notoriously low, but his 2nd serve is a million times better than Rafa's. Both awesome fighters and competitors.

Some will say that the era Hewitt was #1 in, (late 2001-mid 2003) was merely a transition period before Federer's domination, and its true to a certain extent. Lleyton, even as the #1 player in the world was capable of being blasted off the court, and wasn't nearly as dominant over the tour as Nadal was when he was #1. Nadal's game matches up very well against most of the tour, while Hewitt's game can be taken apart by a variety of styles.

These guys played at the AO in 2004 and 2005, both pretty high quality matches. Hamburg 2007 as well.

I was not so much into tennis during 2000-2002, but i know Hewitt was hot back then...so hot that he burned quite quickly...can a tennis historian here make a short comparison between him and Nadal, tennis wise, results wise, injuries wise ?

Tks.

...The only similarity between Nadal & Hewitt is the fact that they`re both have lionheart intestinal fortitude
Both of them like to grind their opponents down, and play every point like it might be their last
Techniques are totally different:
Hewitt is a counterpuncher who likes to hit the ball flat!
Nadal is an aggressive baseliner who likes to spin the ball something crazy.
Hewitt`s serve is better, Nadal`s forehand is more powerful & effective.
Nadal uses the drop shot quite often, Hewitt prefers to lob.
Hewitt`s a better volleyer, Nadal has more reach & raw power.
Hewitt is better on hardcourt, Nadal obviously the clay monster.
Both have had surprising succes on grass..
Hewitt injured his hips, Nadal normally the knees..!!

Hewitt was No. 1 for longer than Nadal & has won the U.S. Open, but that's about all he's got on him. As others have said, he is a counter-puncher who uses the opponent's pace against him. Nadal occasionally does this on passing shots, but mostly relies on his monstrous top-spin to wear opponents down and draw errors or short balls he can put away. Both at their peaks had incredible defensive skills.

They aren't that alike. For starters, the surfaces they prefer are much different, Nadal=slower Hewitt=quicker. Hewitt is more of a counter-punching, consistent grinder, not really a pure defense player. Nadal on hard courts is/has been generally defensive, but when he plays more aggressive, he has bigger weapons, he can really hit through the ball more than Hewitt can. But Hewitt goes for it more than Nadal when he is in position to do so, and doesn't like to stand way back of the baseline like Nadal does. Hewitt has a bigger serve but a low serve percentage but has a good second serve, and Nadal relies on more consistency and high serve percentages with his serve, as his second serve is not great. Nadal is more of a powerful runner, and Hewitt is more of a gliding, sprinter type.

As far as results, Nadal has more majors, and has been able to win on grass and hard courts, where as Hewitt never won on RG. Their results overall reflect their games and comfort levels, Hewitt has very good faster court results, winning Masters Cup 2 times, winning Wimbledon and US Open. And Nadal as we all know has dominated on clay over the past 5 years, and also has won Wimbledon, Australian Open, and has a winning record over Federer.

Not much similarity between them, other than their precociousness. At age16....

Hewitt (97/98): beat Agassi Sydney (and won title), then in Sydney beat Bjorkman (world number 4 at the time).

Nadal: at Hamburg beat Mathieu and Moya (then world number4), then a couple of weeks past his 17th birthday beat Ancic at Wimbledon (so much for not being a natural grasscourter, Ancic had knocked out Fed the year before).

It's a shame they didn't have more matches, could have been entertaining, but unfortunately they peaked at idfferent times. 2005 was a good one, but Nadal was only 18 at the time so still a few years from being dangerous on hard. Their meetings after that was Hewitt past his best.